Igor Aramovich Ter-Ovanesyan (, ; born 19 May 1938) is a Soviet and Ukrainian former

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

er and coach, of Armenian descent. Competing for the Soviet Union, he was a five-time European and two-time

Olympic medalist This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Sports that will appear in the 2028 Summer Olympics ar ...

in this event. In 1985, he was awarded the

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

Early life

Ter-Ovanesyan was born in Kyiv to an Armenian discus thrower, Aram Avetisovich Ter-Ovanesyan, and a Ukrainian volleyball player, Valentina Ilinskaya. His parents met at the Kyiv State Institute of Physical Education, where they both taught sports-related topics.

Career

Ter-Ovanesyan took up athletics when he was 15, and within two years was included to the Soviet national team. Ter-Ovanesyan trained at Burevestnik, first in Kiev, later in

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, and then in Moscow. He holds a PhD and a title of Professor at the Department of Athletics, Moscow State Academy of Physical Culture. He published several sports-related books in Russian. Ter-Ovanesyan won Olympic bronze medals at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

in Rome – with a jump of 8.04 meters – and at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

in Tokyo – with a jump of 7.99 meters. He also competed at the 1956, 1968 and 1972 Olympics and finished fourth in 1968. At the European Championships he won outdoor gold medals in 1958, 1962 and 1969, and an indoor silver medal in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

. Ter-Ovanesyan became the first European long jumper to break the 8 meter barrier. He broke the European long jump record eight times and the world long jump record twice. In 1963, he won the United States Indoor Championships. Ter-Ovanesyan had the annual world's best long jumps in 1962, 1966, 1967 and 1969. After retiring from competitions, Ter-Ovanesyan became a national coach. His pupils included Ineta Radēviča, Valery Podluzhny,

Vilma Bardauskienė Vilhelmina "Vilma" Bardauskienė (born 15 June 1953) is a former long jumper from Lithuania, who represented the Soviet Union in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She twice set the women's world record in the long jump, and won the European title in ...

and

Tatyana Kolpakova Tatyana Alekseyevna Kolpakova (Abbyasova) () (born October 18, 1959 in village Alamedin, Kyrgyz SSR) is a retired long jumper who represented the USSR. Kolpakova began athletics at the age of 15. On May 9, 1974 she competed at the All-Union ...

. In 1983–1989 he headed the Soviet track and field team. In February 2017, Ter-Ovanesyan held a press conference in Moscow, during which he said that East German successes due to state-sponsored doping are legitimate results of "good pharmacology" and should not be condemned.

Results

Olympics

* 1960 Rome: Bronze with 8.04 m behind

Ralph Boston Ralph Harold Boston (May 9, 1939 – April 30, 2023) was an American track athlete who received three Olympic medals and became the first person to break the barrier in the long jump. Early years and education Boston was born in Laurel, Missi ...

(USA) with 8.12 m and Bo Roberson (USA) with 8.11 m. * 1964 Tokyo: Bronze with 7.99 m behind Great Britain's

Lynn Davies Lynn Davies CBE (born 20 May 1942) is a Welsh former track and field athlete who specialised in the long jump. He was the 1964 Olympic champion in the event. Early life Davies was born in Nantymoel near Bridgend and was a member of the ...

with 8.07 m and

(USA) with 8.03 m * 1968 Mexico: Fourth with 8.12 m behind

Bob Beamon Robert Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. By jumping , he broke the existing record by a margin of and his world r ...

(USA) with 8.90 m,

Klaus Beer Klaus Beer (14 November 1942 – 8 June 2023) was a track and field athlete active in the 1960s for East Germany. Beer is best known for having won the silver medal in the long jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics, well behind Bob Beamon's record s ...

(

GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

) with 8.19 m and

(USA) with 8.16 m.

European Championships

* 1958 Stockholm: Gold, 7.81 m * 1962 Belgrade: Gold, 8.19 m * 1966 Budapest: Silver, 7.88 m * 1969 Athens: Gold, 8.17 m * 1971 Helsinki: Silver, 7.91 m

World records

*8.31 metres on 10 July 1962 in Yerevan *8.35 metres on 19 October 1967 in Mexico City

Defection target

On the eve of the Rome Olympics, athlete

Dave Sime David William Sime (; July 25, 1936 – January 12, 2016) was an American sprinter, multi-sport athlete at Duke University, and a pioneering ophthalmologist. He won a silver medal in the 100-meter dash (photo finish) at the 1960 Olympic ...

of the USA was approached by the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

and recruited to help secure Ter-Ovanesyan's

defection In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

. Sime approached Ter-Ovanesyan and introduced him to a CIA agent in Rome, but that agent's manner frightened Ter-Ovanesyan off and he did not defect.

Personal life

Ter-Ovanesyan has been married twice. His first marriage was to Margarita Yurievna Yemelyanova. They had a son, Igor (b. 1963), and a daughter, Karen (b. 1967). His second marriage was to Olga Arturovna Klein. In 1982, they had a daughter, Jana Igorevna Klein.

Notes

References

* * Maraniss, David (2008). ''Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World''. New York, Simon & Schuster. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Ter-Ovanesyan, Igor 1938 births Living people Athletes from Kyiv Ukrainian male long jumpers Soviet male long jumpers Soviet athletics coaches Ukrainian athletics coaches Olympic male long jumpers Olympic athletes for the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games gold medalists for the Soviet Union Medalists at the 1961 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1963 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1965 Summer Universiade European Athletics Championships medalists Japan Championships in Athletics winners World record setters in athletics (track and field) Burevestnik (sports society) sportspeople Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Russian sportspeople of Armenian descent Ukrainian people of Armenian descent Soviet Armenians Soviet Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Ukrainian sportsmen